sovereignty has been transferred away from parliament

Question 1

executive

Answer 1

-institutional support of PM has grown hugely, 100 staff, the downing street machine gives extensive power to the executive to control the legislative agenda and backbench rebellions
-executive dominance is not new as it can be traced back to Lord Hailsham’s elective dictatorship theory (1976)
-the executive is growing in terms of power over elections due to the repeal of the FTPA by Johnson it is easier for the executive to call an election without obstacles from parliament

Question 2

executive evaluation

Answer 2

• Parliament’s real power over the executive is dependent on whether the government holds a majority.
• Parliament still holds the power to remove the executive, by forcing a resignation (May 2019) or by a formal vote of confidence (Callaghan 1979).
• As noted, executive power has been curtailed by the Article 50 and Prorogation Supreme Court cases.
• Parliament has strengthened its hand against the executive via the creation of the biannual Liaison Committee in 2002 – a super committee made
  up of Select Committee chairs that holds the PM to account.

Question 3

parliament

Answer 3

-due to its legally sovereignty it has returned some previously transferred powers and there is some evidence for its power increasing:
-European Withdrawal Act 2020:sovereignty over fishing, agriculture and trade returned
-Supreme court rulings in Article 50 and prorogation cases strengthened the power of the legislature
-Bercow’s reforms gave westminster more power to hold the executive to account

Question 4

parliament evaluation

Answer 4

In 1997 Parliament was (arguably) a much more powerful institution. It is mainly in relation to the EU has it grown in terms of political sovereignty.
In other areas, in the main it continues to be dominated (executive power) or has decentralised power (devolution, judiciary, popular forms of
sovereignty).

Question 5

judiciary

Answer 5

-HRA empowered judiciary by allowing the issuing of declarations of incompatibility with EHCR e.g. forcing the amendment of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, but DOIs do not have to be implemented and the court cannot declare acts unconstitutional
-CRA 2005 made the court more independent, allowing judges to intervene in high profile cases such as Miller/Article 50 and Prorogation, but these have led to the strengthening of parliament

Question 6

judiciary evaluation

Answer 6

Because of the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, the judiciary does not challenge the legal sovereignty of Parliament. Rather it practices restraint as seen in the Nicklinson (right to die) and Chester (prisoners’ votes) cases. Hence, it is not viable to argue that significant powers have been transferred to the judiciary from Parliament. In The Rule of Law, Lord Bingham – an authoritative scholar – argued that judges are aware of their constitutional role and their subservience to Parliament.

Question 7

devolution

Answer 7

-Scotland: Scotland Acts 1998, 2014,2016, such power has been transferred it is now ‘devo-max’ , Scottish Parliament hold power over major areas of Scot’s lives e.g. taxation and healthcare, an example is no tuition fees
-regionally: GMCA, directly elected metro mayors hold power over transport, housing etc. example of new policy is ‘our pass’ by Burnham
-Sewel Convention: UK Parliament will not normally legislate over devolved matters without permission from devolved administrations

Question 8

devolution evaluation

Answer 8

• Westminster still retains critical reserved powers over the constitution (Brexit), foreign policy and defence (Trident) highly unlikely any powers will be devolved further in these areas.
• Devolution is asymmetrical, meaning the picture of how Westminster has lost its real power is mixed. Scotland, it is increasingly irrelevant in terms of the major issues (health) in Wales, Parliament still controls the justice system.
• Equally, in England Parliament has transferred significant powers to the GMCA, many regions do not have a Metro Mayor at all such as Cheshire

Question 9

eu

Answer 9

-European Withdrawal Act 2020 transferred significant power back to Parliament e.g sovereignty reestablished over issues such as trade and agriculture
-UK now holds jurisdiction over areas it was powerless over 1993-2020 e.g. recent agreement of free trade deal with New Zealand

Question 10

eu evaluation

Answer 10

-most powers that have been recentralised will be executed as statutory instruments by ministers, not Parliament.
-the new European Union Future Relationship Act 2020 required the UK to pool new areas of sovereignty with the EU. In Northern Ireland,
the ‘protocol’ means that the EU can check goods entering UK territory (Northern Ireland). Furthermore, an EU institution, the European Court of
Justice, oversees how the protocol works. This means that under the European Union Future Relationship Act 2020, Parliament has transferred
fresh powers to the EU.